Crock-Pot Cowboy Casserole

While doing a bit of organizing of my recipes and cookbooks this past weekend I came across this recipe from my grandmother. While I don’t remember ever eating it before it sounded yummy so I thought I would give it a try to see how it turned out.

The consensus from the crew…”Pretty tasty mom!”

And it was super easy to make as well so no complaints from me.

TIP: When hamburger is on sale at a great price, buy extra for meals later. When you get home from the store brown your ground beef, drain and rinse and then store in labeled freezer bags and freeze for up to 6 months. When a recipe calls for browned ground beef just pull out a bag from the freezer and you are already one step ahead of the game!

I have no idea why this recipe is called cowboy casserole. But considering I am in Wyoming and have seen the rancher’s wives come in to town to do their shopping (4 + carts of groceries at a time) I assume they need to feed them cowboys something hearty and filling and probably something that is not too expensive to make.

We are not cowboys…but feeding our crew of 6 requires those same sort of ideas for dinner. So this recipe is a winner!

This recipe was definitely a win! My husband said “wow the house smells good!” when he came home from work, and then nommed down a big bowl of the casserole. We’ve got enough for leftovers tomorrow night. I’m thinking about putting it over rice or mixing rice in with it to extend it a bit more tomorrow night.

I am so glad you and your husband enjoyed this recipe. It is really quite versatile I think. When I was making it I was thinking you could definitely add some other things to it. I was thinking about adding some veggies (carrots or corn perhaps?) to it. But serving it over rice would be good too I bet!

No such thing as a dumb question. Most recipes for the crock-pot that call for ground beef/hamburger you cook the hamburger in a skillet, drain and I like to rinse the meat off in a strainer with hot tap water. This removes the extra fat. The only recipes I can think that don’t call for pre-cooking the ground beef are meatloaf.

Hi Rachael, I am sorry your casserole turned our liquidy. I am not sure why it would be on the runny side, it should not be. Did you follow the recipe exactly or add anything extra? The only liquid in the recipe is the cream of mushroom soup and the juice from the canned tomatoes. You might be able to thicken it up with a little flour slurry (a couple of tablespoons flour mixed with a couple tablespoons of water mixed well till there is no lumps and then pour into your dish stir well and cook a while till it thickens up.

Aye Rachael, its funny over multiple of years, I have heard many [Lassies]? degrade crock pot cooking. Their biggest complaint is – that it always had too much liquid. Being only “just a man” I tend to look @ cooking/methods in a mechanical way!! As all meats & vegetables consist of around 80% moisture/water & the crock pot is a slow cooking method, then the moisture/liquid from ALL scources has time to appear! If trying a new dish then to be fair to all, be prepared to cook it slow/longer time [lowest setting. This will not only give the contents time to exude most of their juices [moisture] but flavours as well. Also too it will give you time to have the “odd peek” & [if required you add YOUR favourite choice to keep moist >> gravy/sauce/soup/wine or simple water. As I said in another article, it pays to keep some “real gravy/stock/soup or other in fridge or pantry so that one can add to your crock pot or any other dish. To avoid “burning”/crusting/difficult cleaning, avoid ADDING later – powder type gravies – real meaty types OK, best all rounder ‘vege’ or fruity stock/juices.
NOTE – some people complain that they “did not like a dish”, to be fair – – EVERYONE should know their taste preference or zone. Examples would be – ‘love salt or hate salt’ – like hot dish [chili/curry] or normal dish – – USE the recipe THEN decide if a touch, or part, or ALL of your preferred taste should be added to it >> as long as it does not clash >> a wrong colour/ a runny mess/ too chewy/ to crusty/ too hot/ not to your taste – – – no ones fault but your OWN!!!?? Be mindful >> it could be your pot, it could be your cooker, it could be the meat or veg’., quality, or your timing to blame!?? Also >> THE SIZE OF THE DIFFERANT CUTS OF MEAT/VEGETABLES, OR VARIETY OF VEGETABLES or simply where you cook – outside or inside > colder/warmer therefore medium heat instead of low & so on????

Hi I put everything in the crockpot like I was supposed to but it seems very thick should I add some chicken or vegetable broth to it? I’m nervous it might burn to the crockpot if I don’t add some kind of liquid to it. Thanks.

Really enjoyed this meal! My husband said it tastes like a baked potato. My kids, ages 5 and 1, both enjoyed it as well. Cooked on high for 3 hours and it was done, so I turned it down to low until we were ready to eat. Will try on low next time. Also added the cheese the last few minutes instead of for an hour. Thanks for sharing this! Perfect for a stormy Wyoming evening 🙂

My husband and I LOVED this! We’ll definitely make it again- it was flavorful and super easy.

I followed your directions exactly as written, cooking on low. I was worried at first with the number of potatoes used, but they came out tender and perfectly cooked through and didn’t overwhelm the other ingredients.

Hi Heidi,
Have a question…..I am having 9 people over for a family dinner and would like to try this recipe. Can you tell me if I wanted to double the recipe would I just multiple all ingredients by 2? If so, would this change the length of cooking time? Thanks for the help and the recipes!

Since I have not actually doubled this recipe I am not 100% sure. But I am going to give it my best guess. You should be able to double this recipe and be just fine. The recipe already serve 6-8 depending on how big of portions you are serving. So doubling the recipe may yield you a lot of Cowboy Casserole! I would adjust the cooking time by 2 hours on low and 1 hour on high if I was doubling the recipe and see where you are. The only thing you are really cooking here is the potatoes. Let us know how it goes for you Jennifer!

This looks yummy. I’m going to give it a try. I will be substituting the cream of mushroom soup though because my husband is allergic to mushrooms. I think I’ll try cream of chicken or cheddar cheese soup. I’ll let you know how that works.

I have this simmering in the crockpot now. I accidentally bought cream of celery instead of creak of mushroom and I also added cheddar cheese soupand a chopped pepper. We’ll see how it is! Smells good anyway

I made this yesterday and we had the leftovers tonight. It was great! I made a few changes…1/2 cup onion and 1/2 cup bell pepper, diced jalapeño, and cream of potato instead of cream of mushroom. I also seasoned the meat really well as I was browning it with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Thank you, Liz, for taking the initiative and READING a recipe and adjusting it to your families KNOWN preferences and not blaming the recipe for being a “failure”. For my family, I added Ro*tel tomatoes, black beans (drained and rinsed) and southwestern corn (with onions and peppers). Recipes are not set in stone, have fun with them.

I did have a little trouble with this recipe. The potatoes just didn’t want to cook. So I think next time (and yes, there will be a next time!) I will reduce the recipe by one or two potatoes and maybe blanch them before adding them to the slow cooker. That being said, it was really tasty. I never add the extra salt (as I am watching my blood pressure) and added some red chili’s. We like it spicy here! The seasoning was great and it was good with and without cheese. Yum!

I am testing this out today I did not have the beans or cream of mushroom so I am making a change or two… no beans, cream of broccoli rather than cream of mushroom and baby potatoes quartered rather than full potatoes cut into 1/4 inch. This looks amazing already I cannot wait for it to be done!

I do a lot of the cooking at home. I am normally on lay off status during the winter. I enjoy cooking, and enjoy comfort foods. I like to add my own little dash to things I cook. Normally this would be a healthy splash of red wine, extra garlic, and a hand ground or two hot pepper that I grow and dry myself every year. Looking forward to dinner tonight, as I do every night. LOL

Hi Dan, I love your enthusiasm for cooking. Your suggested additions sound great and would take this recipe from “Cowboy Simple” to “Dude Ranch Perfect” I am sure! Be sure to come on back and let us know how it turned out!

I made this yesterday and it was delicious! I did the following substitutions: extra lean ground turkey instead of beef, organic salt-free black beans rather than kidney beans, and 4 white sweet potatoes rather than potatoes. I omitted the cheese since I’m dairy-free. So easy to make, I’ll definitely be throwing this recipe into rotations!

Wow, sorry to hear that Cindy. Thanks so much for taking the time to let us know that your boyfriend thought this was “garbage”. As you can tell from the comments, many other people love this recipe. But… to each their own I guess! Have a great day!

Lady Heidi, I don’t know how you keep your cool when people insult you like this. Good grief, CINDY…are you 10 years old? Maybe you need cooking lessons! I mean, we all know a crock pot is such a difficult appliance to use! haha
(You definitely need to learn some manners. ugh!)
Just found this blog and I want to thank all three ladies for their time and efforts making some delicious recipes for us.

Thanks for the kind words Kin. I have been in the online space a LONG time and I guess I have developed a skin against the harsh comments. We can’t please everyone. But it is people who take the time to leave kind comments (like yourself) or constructive criticism that helps us develop this blog and the recipes here. Sometimes we do make mistakes…and if folks don’t let us know that something didn’t come out right or we left off an important step then we would never be able to fix it. But hateful comments don’t benefit anyone.

I live in Texas and buy Ranch Style Beans. I think they will add extra flavor. Great recipe! Taking my crock pot to a hotel this weekend for daughter’s birthday celebration. Ground meat already browned I and in the freezer. Lots of indoor swimming and good food. Thanks!

My husband and I both loved this recipe. He thinks the leftovers will be great for his work lunches. The only change I made was to boil the potatoes for 10 minutes before adding them to the recipe. I have a soup recipe that calls for potatoes and they don’t cook enough in the crock pot so I did that just to be safe. Thanks for the recipe!

gonna try this tonight on the stove as I didn’t find the recipe in time to slow cook it. I have several food allergies and cannot use anything in can due to the preservatives so I wont be using the soup and will be using everything fresh to make it gluten soy corn free. let you know how it is. cant wait!!!

I made this tonight. Didn’t use all the juice in the bean can and added maybe a 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce I had leftover. Otherwise followed the directions and it was very tasty. Yum! Got a request to make it again, maybe with variations like adding celery, peas, or corn.

This was awesome, and the smell while it was cooking was amazing! I played around with the recipe a little bit, just for personal preference. I added corn (highly recommend), omitted the tomatoes, and added worchestire sauce to the ground beef while it was cooking. A great, hearty meal. Thank you!

This recipe is wonderful and definitely one for my books! I used chili beans with juice instead, and I added sweet corn! I served it with rice! I can’t wait to make this on a cold snowy winter night! Yummy!!!!!!!!

[…] Crock-Pot Cowboy Casserole TIP : When hamburger is on sale at a great price, buy extra for meals later. When you get home from the store brown your ground beef, drain and rinse and then store in labeled freezer bags and freeze for up to 6 months. When a recipe calls for browned ground beef just pull out a bag from the freezer and you are already one step ahead of the game! While doing a bit of organizing of my recipes and cookbooks this past weekend I came across this reci… […]

[…] Cowboy Casserole is a perfect for when you are craving something hearty on a cold winter’s day. We made this a few months back. All the cooking was done in the morning and it was ready to go at the end of the day. It will definitely be a repeat in our house! […]